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USATSI

One of the more difficult things I find in ranking wide receivers is separating talent from opportunity and production for wide receivers who have already been in the NFL for three years. It is much easier to hold on to your prior talent evaluation for second-year wide receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze than it is for guys like DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle,  and Chris Olave. For now, that is the order I rank those last three receivers in, and they all rank between WR23 and WR32, but it is hard to have any real confidence in them.

We know Smith has the potential to be a top-20 wide receiver, maybe even better. We have seen it whenever A.J. Brown or Dallas Goedert misses time. But the fact is that Brown and Goedert are still on the Eagles, and all three remain hamstrung by what looks like one of the most run-heavy offenses in football. For 2025 I have Smith projected as a mid-WR3, largely because of his lackluster 116-target projection. But I also recognize that if Goedert or Brown suffers another injury and misses time, Smith will likely make that ranking look too low.

Waddle is perhaps even more difficult to rank. We have seen one elite season from him alongside Tyreek Hill. In 2022 he caught 74 passes for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns as a 24-year-old. But the last two years have been lackluster, to say the least, and the Dolphins offensive philosophy seemed to change with the arrival of Jonnu Smith, which led to a career-low 83 targets for Waddle in 2024. Those concerns led to Waddle falling outside my top 36 in 2025 projections and his Dynasty rank of WR29 is his lowest ranking since he was drafted.

Somehow, Chris Olave finds himself with a lower ranking in 2025 and in redraft than even that. It is partially because of Derek Carr's retirement and serious questions about who his quarterback will be. His concussions from last year are another obvious concern as well. But the truth is that he just hasn't shown us production that justifies his prior rankings. Olave has scored 10 touchdowns in his NFL career and doesn't have a 1,200-yard season to his name. Unlike Smith, there is not an injury to another pass catcher that could solve this problem. His path is beginning to look a lot like Terry McLaurin's only with more concerns. While McLaurin did score 13 touchdowns last year he's never broken through as a truly elite target-earner or yardage producer. I am not sure Olave will either.

If you want to make a buy-low case for any of these wideouts it wouldn't be difficult. They all have a talent profile that could cause you to believe in them. Unfortunately, buying low on them right now may prove difficult. All three have a higher ADP than my ranking below. 

I had Smitty on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty to discuss some of my other biggest rankings conundrums like Travis Hunter, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy. Check it out:

Here are my updated Dynasty Wide Receiver Rankings: